Process of coating and treating materials



J. L. HERMAN PROCESS OF COATING AND TREATING MATERIALS Dec. 18, 1923.

Filed March 25 Xbil Syvum/Hoz .Patented Bec. I8, I9?

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JOSEPH L. HERMAN, OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

PROCESS F COATING AND TREATING MATERIALS.

Application led March 25, 1922.

To all whom 'it may concem:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH L. HERMAN, a citizen of the United States, aresident of Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State a of Illinois,have invented new and useful Improvements in Processes of Coating andTreating Materials, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference toa process 10 of coating and treatingmaterials having an iron base, such as wire, nails, pipe, sheets andlikematerials, and, while not restricted to l such use, moreparticularly relates to a process of treating such materials afterhaving been galvanized or coated with zinc.

' The invention has for its principal object to heat-treat such coatedmaterials in order to permit a heavier and more flexible coating to beobtained than can be obtained from 2o the use of ordinary coatingmethods.

The invention has for a further object the heat-treament of the coatingat temperatures above 788 degrees F. said temperature being theapproximate melting point of zinc (spelter). Such heat-treatment .may beemployed for coatings where the annealing of the coated material is donesimultaneously with the heat-treating in air or in an air-freeatmosphere; or where the annealing of the material is donesimultaneously with the coating; the temperature of the coating bathbeing sullicient to anneal the material at the same time; or where thematerial is immersed in the coating bath while in a highly heated statesubstantially as set forth in my companion applications bearing SerialNumbers 535,660; 541,561; 541,562 and 541,- 563.

In the accompanying drawing there is illustrated diagramatically theusual or ordinary continuous galvanizing or coating apparatus includingthe annealing furnace, acid bath, flux bath. coating or galvanizingbath, and my heat-treater 7 associated therewith, by means of which myprocess may be carried out. The temperature of the heat-treater beingcarried at or above 788 F., the latter being approximately the meltingpoint of zinc.

I have discovered that any material having an iron base and coated withzinc (spelter) may be treated by my process in such Serial No. 546,705.

a. manner as to permit a heavy coating of zinc to remain upon saidmaterial and at the same time making this heavy coating flexible, ifsaid material after being coated is subjected to temperatures at orabove 788 4degrees F., and maintaining the heated materials at or abovesuch temperature for a definite length of time. This time intervalvaries, depending upon the temperature to which the materials are heatedand the nature of the material undergoing treatment, the heat-treatingperiod being shorter for higher temperatures and vice versa. Materialcoated by this means has a heavy, durable protective coating againstatmospheric rusting and corroding conditions and at the same time isflexible enough to allow the material to be subjected to fabricating orforming machines Without such coating cracking or flaking off, as is thecase with materials having a heavy coating and coated by ordinaryprocesses.l For example I have subjected galvanized wire the diameter ofwhich was 0.198 to a heat-treatment such as I have described, bysubjecting the galvanized wire to a temperature of about 1500 degrees F.for

'a period of about twenty seconds and obtained a smooth heavy, liexiblecoated wire, which when not subjected to my heat-treatment is brittleand uneven. I have obtained similar results at about 1300 degrees F. andhave reached temperatures in my heattreater as high as 2200 de ees F. inwhich latter case the length of time the wire was exposed to theheat-treatment was only a few seconds. I, do not, of course, limitmyself to the temperatures and time intervals above specified asthey areonly given as examples of what I have done as I have produced many tonsof such heat-treated materials.

I am aware that there are processes described where coatings have beensubjected to heat-treatment at low temperatures for long intervals oftime, Whereas by my process I use very short'intervals of time for myheat-treatment and use very high temperatures, namely, those at or above788 degrees F. I can, thus, if I desire, make use of continuousprocesses for coating materials.

VVheiy I claim is The process of coating materials having un iron basewhich consists in subjecting the seme to e Coating bath and thenhent-t1e:\ting such coated nmteriul at temperatures at 01 above 788degrees F., for a certain inter- 'al of time, the time Varying with the,nature of the material heat-treated and the tempermute to whichthemateriul is subjected, Such time interval varying-inversely with 10the temperatures.

ln witness whereof, l have hereunto nffixed my hand and seul this 18thday of March, 1922.

JOSEPH L. '.vimimi.y

